Solderless connectors



y 1961 A. A. LAWSON ET AL 2,983,894

SOLDERLESS CONNECTORS Filed Dec. 26, 1956 4 3 Am?! Arno/d Lawson Jesse Dav/d .Sved/ow INVENTORS A 7' TORNE Y United States 2,983,894 sornnnrnss CONNECTORS Axel A. Lawson, 4640 13th St. N., Arlington 7, Va. and Jesse D. Svedlow, 401 Patrick Henry Drive, Falls Church, Va. i

Fil ed Dec. 26, 1956, Ser. o. 630,512 Claims. 01. 339-95 ess of insertingthe leads into the connectors; and to mounting plates for assemblies of solderless connectors which permit a multiplity of radically different arrangements, at will.

Solderless connectors are well known devices, in the broad field of electrical connectors. The advantages of solderless connectors are many, and among them may be mentioned a saving of time in effecting connections, and in effecting disconnections. This advantage leads to savings in constructing bread-board circuitry, especially in the electronic arts, since components may be re-used, since connection and disconnection time is saved, since a smaller inventory of components may be required than is the case if components are soldered in place, since attrition of components is radically reduced, and since modification of circuitry is facilitated.

The facilitation of provision of a wide variety of breadboard configurations, modifiable at will with extreme ease and rapidity, leads to great economies in electronic research. In addition, all arrangements of connectors on a mounting board, which are possible, in accordance with the present invention, enforce orderly and neat layouts. I

In accordance with the present invention, provision is made for solderless connectors capable of interconnecting a plurality of leads which may be of random sizes.

It is an object of the invention to provide a solderless connector which is susceptible of economical fabrication, and which is of small size, and is rugged and maintenance free.

It is another object of the invention to provide a multiple lead solderless connector, in which insertion of a lead into the connector serves to clean the lead by abrasion, and in which the lead is partially locked into the connector by the act of insertion.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a mounting board for solderless connectors which is flexible as to size and as to location of connectors.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a support for a plurality of solderless connectors, within which the connectors may be distributed at will rapidly and with case, from which any given connector may be readily removed without disturbing the remaining connectors, and within which the connectors may be locked immovably. r

The above and still further objects, features and advantages; of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of specific embodiments thereof, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

. Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a multiple connector assembly, in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of a single connector;

Figure 3 is a view in side elevation of the connector of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a view in front elevation of the connector of Figures 2 and 3;

Figure 5 is a view in section taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 2; and

Figure 6 is a view in perspective of a modification of the multiple connector assembly of Figure 1.

Referring initially to Figures 2-5 of the accompanying drawings, the reference numeral 1 denotes a multiple solderless connector in accordance with the invention. The connector includes a U-member, fabricated of a single thin resilient metal sheet, the base 2 of the U being relatively fiat, and including two oppositely extending ears 3 and 4 and four apertures 5, 6, 7, 8, symmetrically placed intermediate the ears 3, *4. The apertures are sufficiently large to accommodate wire leads of a wide variety of sizes, such as are found on commonly employed resistors, condensers, and the like.

The U-member includes four fiat cantilever arms 9, 10, 11, 12 extending generally perpendicularly from the base 2, and integral therewith. The arms 9, 10, 11, 12 extend in opposed planes in pairs, i.e., arm 9 is opposed to arm 10, and arm 11 to arm 12, but arms 9 and 11 subsist in the same plane and arms 10 and 12 in the same plane. Eachof arms 9, 10, 11, 12 terminate'in an inwardly progressing element,.the latter being identified respectively, by reference numerals 13, 14, 15 and 16, and terminating inwardly of the apertures 5, 6, 7, 8, respectively. Each of apertures 5, 6, 7, Sis aligned with one of the arms 9 10, 11, 12, approximately centrally thereof.

subsisting between the pairs of arms 9, 10*, and 11, 12 is a single solid-metallic'filler 18, which extends longitudinally from the base 2 to almost the lower terminations of the inwardly progressing elements 13, '14, 15, 16, and which is shaped to conform to the arms 9-12, and to their terminating elements 1316 and to be resiliently held therebetween. Formed in the filler 18 and extending from and in alignment with each of the apertures 5-8 is one of grooves 20, 21, 22, 23. The grooves extend over the entire length of filler 18, parallel with the longitudinal center line 19 of the filler 18, and consequently are of decreasing depth at the narrow end of the filler 18. The grooves 2023 constitute guide grooves for leads one of apertures 5, 6, 7, 8, 6 being taken for example only, proceeds along the adjacent groove such as 2 1, cams an arm, such as 10, outwardly, and eventually wipes past the end of the arm, as at 26, as it leaves the groove 21. In so doing the lead is' abraded slightly, and is thereby cleaned, which assists in making an excellent electrical connection. The sharp edge of the end 26 of element 10 bites into'the metal of lead 25, by reason of the fact that element lll'subsists at an angle to the lead when cammed outwardly, and holds the lead firmly. The lead is nevertheless removable on application of adequate force, but removal force is greater than is insertion force.

Since there are four apertures in each connector, and four complementary grooves, four leads may be connected to each connector, and hence to each other. Obviously, the structure may be extended to include six, eight, or more grooves, if desired, or reduced to two grooves without departing from the principles of the invention.

In making up a bread-board, including a plurality of connectors constructed according to the invention, there is provided a plurality of fiat connector mounting plates 30, 31 all identical, and following the arrangement the arrangement illustrated in Figure 1. In the alternative the arrangement of Figure 6 may be adopted.

Referring now to Figure 1, themounting plates 30, 31, may be flat plates fabricated of plastic or of other insulating material, and may be mounted edge to edge, one adjacent the other, on parallel end rails 32, 33-, which extend in slots in the ends of the plates. Any desired number of plates 30, 31 may be secured to or assembled on a pair of end rails, and together form a mounting board for mounting connectors, electrical components, and the like.

Slots 35 are cut out in one edge 36, of each plate, the slots extending through the entire thickness of the plate and having each a depth and width just adequate to accommodate the body of a connector 1. Slots 37 are formed in the projections 38 left by the slots 35, the slots 37 extending parallel to the plane of the plate 30, and having dimensions suitable for snugly receiving the ears 3, 4. Each connector may thus be inserted in a slot 35, with its ears 3, 4 in adjacent ones of slots 37, respectively. When two plates, such as 30 and 31 are placed in juxtaposition the connectors located therebetween are firmly secured and may not be removed from the assembly except by separating the plates.

Connectors may be readily inserted as and where desired, to make up a bread-board, i.e., slots 35 may be selectively occupied. When an assembly of connectors 1 and plates 30, 31 is completed there is presented a fiat insulating board, having a plurality of openings, formed by slots 35, within certain of which are visible apertures 58 of connectors 1. Connection to any connector may be readily made by inserting leads, as 24, into the apertures. Any pair of connectors may readily be interconnected, as by means of a wire jumper, and any single connector may be employed, in the illustrated example, to interconnect four leads.

In the embodiment of Figure 6 is illustrated a modification of the embodiment of our invention illustrated in Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings, wherein is employed insulating plates 40, which lie edges up, the slots 41 which support ears 3, 4 extending parallel to the edges 42, and recesses 43 being provided for accommodating the bodies of the connectors. The recesses 43 are then analogous to slots 35 of Figure l, and the slots 41 to the slots 37, of Figure 1.

While we have described and illustrated specific embodiments of the invention, it will be clear that variations of the general arrangement and of the details of construction which are specifically illustrated and described may be resorted to without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What we claim is:

l. A multiple solderless connector for a wire lead of random thickness, including a base element of fiat metal sheet, said base element including at least one aperture of size adequate to accept said lead, a pair of ears extending in opposite directions from said base, said ears being integral with said base, and at least a pair of generally parallel resilient arms integral with said base and extending generally at right angles from said base, a rigid filler located internally of said pair of arms and substantially filling the space therebetween, said arms having terminal portions which converge toward a longitudinal center line of said filler, said filler including a surface guide slot for said wire lead, said guide slot being adjacent to one of said arms and extending perpendicularly of said base element, said aperture being collinear with said slot, the depth of said slot being less than the minimum thickness of said wire lead of random thickness at least at the terminal portions of said arms.

2. A solderless connector for wire leads of random thickness including a generally U-shaped member having a base and two elongated arms of equal length extending from said base, said base and arms being of metallic resilient material, the spacing of said arms at said base being greater than the spacing of said arms at the ends of said arms located remotely from said base, a filler located between said arms, a pair of surface slots in said filler, one slot extending immediately adjacent to each of said arms, the depth of each slot being less than the minimum of said random thicknesses at least at said ends of said arms.

3. A solderless connector for wire leads of random thickness, including a generally U-shaped member having a base and a plurality of pairs of elongated metallic cantilever arms extending from said base, corresponding arms of said pairs subsisting in the same plane, said arms each having a free end and an end integral with said base, the spacing between arms of each pair being smaller at the free ends than at the ends integral with said base, a filler substantially filling the space between said arms, said filler including a plurality of surface grooves, each groove extending along one of said arms from said base to approximately the free end of the arm, said grooves having cross sectional dimensions adapted to accept any of said leads of random thickness at said base, and said grooves extending generally parallel with the axis of symmetry of said arms, said grooves having depths less than a wire lead of minimum thickness adjacent the free ends of said arms.

4. A solderless connector for wire leads of random thickness, each of said connectors including a generally U-shaped member having a base andtwo elongated arms.

extending from said base, said base and arms being of metallic resilient material, at least the ends of said arms located remotely from said base extending toward one another, a filler located between said arms, a pair of surface slots in said filler, each slot extending generally perpendicular to said base and immediately adjacent to one of said arms, the depth of said slot being less than the minimum of said random thicknesses at least at said ends of said arms.

5. The combination according to claim 4 wherein said base includes a pair of oppositely extending ears integral with said base as extensions thereof.

6. The combination according to claim 5 wherein is provided a mounting plate of insulating material, said mounting plate including a recess arranged and adapted to receive one of said bodies and a pair of slots extending in opposite directions from said recess, said slots being arranged and adapted to receive said ears.

7. A solderless connector for wire leads of random thickness including a generally U-shaped member having a base and two elongated arms of equal length extending from said base, said base and arms being of metallic resilient material, the spacing of said arms at said base being greater than the spacing of said arms at the ends of said arms located remotely from said base, a filler located between said arms, a pair of surface slots in said filler, one slot extending immediately adjacent to each of said arms, the depth of each slot being less than the minimum of said random thicknesses at least at said ends of said arms, and an opening in said base aligned with an end of each of said surface slots in said filler.

8. A solderless connector for wire leads of random thickness, each of said connectors including a generally U-shaped member having a base and two elongated cantilever arms extending from said base in generally parallel separated planes, said base and arms being of metallic resilient material, at least the free ends of said cantilever arms extending toward one another, a filler element located between said arms and having at least one surface slot, said surface slot extending in a direction from said base toward one of said free ends, and intersecting said one of said free ends of one of said cantilever arms, the depth of said slot being less than the minimum of said random thicknesses at least at said one of said free ends, and an opening in said base aligned with an end of said at least one surface slot.

9. A solderless connector according to claim 8 wherein said filler element includes at least one of said surface slots adjacent each one of said cantilever arms, and wherein said base includes a separate opening aligned with each one of said slots.

10. A solderless connector for wire leads of random thickness, each of said connectors including a generally U-shaped member having a base and plural generally parallel cantilever arms extending cfrom said base and having each a free end, said base and arms being of resilient material, said cantilever arms at least at their free ends extending toward one another in pairs, and a filler located between said cantilever arms from a point adjacent said base to a point adjacent said free ends, said base having openings through which said wire leads may be inserted and extend to said free ends.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Small Aug. 10, Doppke Jan. 18, Peirce Apr. 9, Buchanan et al. May 11, Milhench et a1. Mar. 14, Miloche Apr. 11, Petri Aug. 10, Strange Nov. 29, Buchanan et a1 Dec. 3, Sperzel Jan. 10,

FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Apr. 6,

France Sept. 26, 

